Is your smoke detector decades old? Replace it!

Nebraskans who have old smoke alarms are being encouraged to swap the devices with new, dual-sensor detectors.

Fire prevention expert Ray Reynolds says smoke detectors should be replaced every ten years and Nebraskans should consider equipping their homes with the latest in smoke detectors.

“You don’t still operate the 1975 technology in your T.V. or 1975 car, you got a newer model,” Reynolds said. “So, the dual sensor provides optimum protection. If you have a working smoke detector in your home, that’s the priority for us, but as you go to replace those detectors, you should replace them with the dual sensor detector.”

Fire prevention expert Tony Collins says the new smoke alarms are capable of detecting different types of fires.

“A slow, smoldering fire such as a cigarette in a bed or seat cushion can be detected by ionization type detectors,” Collins says. “For flare-up type fires with flames such as a cooking fire, there’s photoelectric type detectors. Now, these are combined into one smoke alarm.”

The state fire marshal’s office say 15 Nebraskans were killed in fires last year.